All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club ( German association for lawn tennis and croquet for the whole of England ) is a club in Wimbledon, a suburb of London in England. The club has become known as the host of the annual tennis championships of England. President is the Duke of Kent.
History
In 1868 the club was founded as the All England Croquet Club, and took a short time later, the then fledgling sport of tennis in his program. The first championship in tennis was played in 1877 and the club renamed The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. 1882 The name Croquet for seven years was quite removed from the club name. In 1889, the club its final name as The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Originally intended as a recreational tournament for club members and their families and friends, the championships developed to an event that should be better known than the actual club. The tournament of Wimbledon is today as the Grand Slam tournament of the four major tennis tournaments in the world.
Today, the club is not only as an organizer of the tennis tournament instead, it operates still as a tennis club and offers its 375 full members and 100 players throughout the year the opportunity to play tennis. Furthermore, the association that represents the Tennis Museum at Wimbledon.
On Court 18, the longest-ever tennis match in the context of a Grand Slam tournament was held until 24 June 2010 from 22.
Club grounds
On the club grounds are currently 19 tennis courts for official games, in addition still exist various training courses and Croquetspielflächen. The historic Centre Court offers 14,000 spectators. In the years 2007-2009 the Centre Court was remodeled and expanded to a capacity of 15,000 spectators. He also received a translucent roof that opens and closes in just 10 minutes.
The second major tennis stadium on the site of the Court 1, which was built in 1997 and has a capacity of 11,500 spectators.
At the 2012 Olympic Games tennis tournament was held on the grounds of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
The closest metro station is Southfields on the District Line.